Parveen Hafeez, the lady who took the courage 20 years before to build an empire in the field of multi-specialty hospital chain and medical supplies companies. Born to a family with a strong business background, she started her career as a business woman with the Medlace group of Companies. In 2005, she decided to start Sunrise Hospital at Kakkanad, in Kochi. A woman starting a business in the hospital industry during those days was an untried idea. Parveen shares her story of success with the Brand Kerala team.
Please elaborate on the growth of Sunrise Group of Hospitals When we started Sunrise Hospital in 2005 in the outskirts of Kochi in Kakkanad, the hospital had only few doctors in hand. Our gradual growth has been attributed to our specialized doctors of international reputation and state-of-the-art medical facilities at par with intentional standards catering to the medical needs of the patients at affordable cost not only in India but also abroad. Today Sunrise Hospital, a tertiary health care centre, is widely recognized as a pioneer in ‘Laparoscopic and Endoscopic Surgeries’ in Asia. Being the Apex Centre for Minimally Invasive Surgery in Asia, we have also been acclaimed as a Centre of excellence in ‘Hernia Surgeries and Laparoscopic cancer Surgeries’. Initially, we had concentrated in Gynaec laparoscopic surgeries, but slowly moved in to other specialties of minimally invasive surgeries. The advantages of keyhole surgery reach all sections of society because of its salient features such as short hospital stay, minimal blood loss, faster recovery rate etc. Thanks to the sincere efforts of our Chairman Dr. Hafeez Rahman who is a pioneer in laparoscopic surgeries in India, and has successfully completed more than 1lakh surgeries till date. Sunrise Hospital has 3 more branches in Kerala and also has branches in New Delhi, Sholapur and Dubai. Our dedicated medical team, that includes eminent panel of doctors and equally proficient medical, paramedical and administrative personnel, provides world-class medical expertise and patient care. How do you feel being one of the leading woman entrepreneurs in the State? “Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destination…” The vision, sheer hard work, confidence, courage, support from my family and inspiration from successful people persuaded me to venture into business arena. We started our first business unit “Medlace Disposables”- a surgical distribution network having branches in Kochi & Kannur in the year 1995. I am also the Managing Partner of Iware Solutions – a software development company specialized in Hospital Information & Printing information systems in Kochi and Dubai. What are the challenges you face in the healthcare industry? I believe that our dream job does not exist; it is we who create it. Even I do not believe that, gender matters. My talent to believe in myself and my positivity and openness to the people around me, helped me to focus on my goals. Since, I am into the service sector; I work with doctors and other staff and try to go in for a best possible solution. Sometimes I have to change my decisions. So, I focus on being productive than being busy. I work outside my comfort zone and I keep things simple by focusing on continuous quality improvements. Business industries are always challenging and the competition pertains. But if we have a logical and strong decision making skill, I strongly believe, we can face any kind of challenges that may affect the balance in our life and business.
Please share your ideology in business which has taken you to enviable heights. I was born and raised with full support from the family. My schooling and college was from Chennai and Kerala respectively. Hailing from a business family inspired me to enter into the business industry. Quality of service with commitment is the best ideology. I am grateful to the people around us for giving us the opportunity to provide the right care and to become the reason for someone’s smile. How do you evaluate the support from your family? Family is where a life begins and love never ends. My husband Dr. Hafeez Rahman is a well known gynecologist and laparoscopic surgeon. We got married in 1992. After our marriage we went to Gujarat for his higher studies. When we were in Gujarat, we thought about starting a hospital in Cochin. Our vision is 20 hospitals in 20 years. Now we have almost successfully completed 10 centers in and outside India. Certainly my husband and our three daughters are my best team and my backbone behind my success.
